Architect Josip Plečnik and Prague. His actions were not without attacks from nationalists
The bells of the Church of the Sacred Heart of the Lord are ringing at noon. I stand on Prague’s Jiřího z Poděbrad Square and look at one of the most original and at least according to my most beautiful buildings that our capital city has.
For reminder or approach: The shape resembles Noah’s ark, a large clock is set in an atypical tower conceived as a thick wall.
The façade with protruding white granite stones resembles a royal ermine cloak, and there is a symbolic royal apple on the roof. And I’m far from alone, who is fascinated by this building full of symbolism over and over again, for whom it evokes a special atmosphere of the place.
As evidenced by interviews with people who come here for a walk or dogs walk on the lawns. “It looks beautiful on me, it’s such a natural center of the square, its dominant feature that everyone will probably remember,” says Mrs. Lucie, who lives nearby.
The building also works well for Tadeáš Trojánek, who lives nearby: “I think it belongs here, maybe because it doesn’t look like a classic church.”
How was it with Alice Masaryk?
“She stands out. It will be the style that it is so rounded. It is not typical like the older churches. ”The genesis of this, in the words of a visitor from Brno, Vojtěch, is a“ rounded and at the same time angular architectural gem that stands out ”.
At that time, the still independent town of Královské Vinohrady felt the need for a tabernacle as early as the end of the new 19th century. The nearest church of St. Ludmila on Peace Square was often crowded during services.
The Women’s Union of St. Eliška has started a collection for construction. But everything took a bit longer, the money for the construction did not come together until the First World War, then there were other worries and the implementation started only after it. The then chief architect of Prague Castle, Josip Plečnik, was invited to design the church.
The image of one of the most important landmarks of the metropolis of the new Czechoslovak Republic was born in the head of a man who divided his time between Prague and his native Slovenia, where he was a professor at the newly established University of Ljubljana. The historian of architecture Zdeněk Lukeš has dedicated a large part of his professional life to his work.
And the Church of the Sacred Heart of the Lord in a way perfectly illustrates Plečnik’s architectural and artistic sentiment:
“Plečnik chose his style of very distinctive modern classicism. He was inspired by early Christian temples and tried to experiment there. He originally planned that the nave would be square. In the end, we recommend that he choose a more traditional rectangular floor plan typical of Prague’s sacral buildings, so he agreed in this regard. But he applied other non-traditional principles there, “explains Zdeněk Lukeš, drawing attention to some, for example, the church nave, which is not divided by columns.
From a constructional point of view, it was not easy at all, but Plečnik wanted no one to have a hidden view of the altar at Mass, the wall of which stretches across the width of the entire altar nave.
Josip or Jože Plečnik in Slovenian left his legacy mainly at Prague Castle and the president’s residence in Lány. This is mainly discussed in this issue of Historie Plus.
But you will also hear how it was with his relationship with the daughter of the first president of Czechoslovakia, Alice Masaryk. And that his actions would not have been possible without the attacks of conservative patriots and patriots, one might say nationalists.